Non-party costs are exceptional and are only awarded when it is just to do so and when 'something more' about the non-party's conduct warrants costs.  The involvement of a parent company in litigation and avoiding a realistic settlement is an example of the 'something more' requirement being met.  In Minister of Education v H Construction North Island Ltd (in req and liq) [2019] NZHC 1459, the High Court found that McConnell Ltd's (McConnell) actions in this litigation warranted awarding non-party costs and disbursements of over a million dollars.

In Robt. Jones Holdings Limited v McCullagh [2019] NZSC 86, the Supreme Court unanimously held that it is unnecessary for a liquidator to prove that any payment actually diminished the assets of a company to claw back that payment under s 292 of the Companies Act (Act). 

Anyone who hasn’t heard about the “student loan crisis” in the U.S. hasn’t been paying attention. U.S. student loan debt is estimated to range from between $1.2 and $1.6 trillion with more than seven million borrowers in default. On an individual level, a graduate of a four-year college who took out a loan to get through currently owes, on average, $28,000. Average debt for a student who completed graduate school, as you would expect, is greater, and can range from $50,000 to more than $100,000.

This article originally was published in the February 2019 issue of the ABI Journal.

A recent ruling in the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) bankruptcy proceeding highlights the risk to certain renewable energy projects from utility bankruptcy. In a June 7, 2019 ruling, the PG&E bankruptcy court denied the claim that Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) must approve any attempt by bankruptcy courts to reject (i.e., void) power project agreements (PPAs) between renewable project owners and utilities. This is in direct opposition to a FERC ruling that it does have this power.

The Government has now announced its intention to proceed with the introduction of a bill to establish a farm debt mediation scheme, based in many respects on comparable New South Wales legislation. It is important for secured lenders to farming enterprises to consider in advance the implications of the bill and the necessary changes to product design, documentation, client relationship management and enforcement processes which may be required.

The scheme is intended to provide for fair, equitable and timely resolution of farm debt issues with two key objectives:

The much anticipated Mainzeal judgment is released

In Mission Product Holdings v. Tempnology LLC, the US Supreme Court will attempt to clarify the impact of bankruptcy proceedings on trademark licenses. The court will determine whether or not the rejection of a license in bankruptcy means the licensee’s right to the trademarks is terminated.

Womble Bond Dickinson attorneys Christopher Bolen and Taylor Ey spoke with IPWatchdog on this issue, which the International Trademark Association (INTA) calls “the most significant unresolved legal issue in trademark licensing.”

High Court orders the liquidation of CBL Insurance

Who is the real holder of a FCRA claim brought by a Chapter 7 debtor? That’s the question that confronted the Eastern District of Wisconsin recently in Kitchner v. Fiergola, 2018 WL 4473359 (E.D. Wis. Sept. 18, 2018).

Under the facts of Kitchner, Plaintiff, Megan Kitchner, (“Kitchner”) alleged that the Kohn Law Firm of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (“Kohn”), violated the FCRA and the FDCPA by disclosing her credit score and credit report in a small-claims collection action filed on March 9, 2017.